Howard Janoske

This March, Union Corruption Update made mention of an unnamed union official who enabled a convicted Maryland contractor, Howard Janoske, to siphon funds from an unnamed union for his own personal use. At least the official now has a name, and a criminal conviction to go along with it. On May 16, Michael Carney, a former facilities and real estate manager for the Herndon, Va.-based union, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, theft and embezzlement of funds over a three-year period. Carney’s conviction, like that of Janoske, follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.

Howard Janoske obtained business on the principle that every man has his price. Now he’s likely to pay a different kind of price. On March 1, Janoske, president of an unnamed Maryland-based plumbing and HVAC contractor, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to honest services fraud, theft and embezzlement in providing an official of an unnamed Virginia-based labor union with extensive kickbacks over a three-year period in return for receiving preference for union contracts. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12. The plea follows a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.